The Outsiders

In a Geneva conference room borrowed from the World Meteorological Organization, the seven members of the European Free Trade Association met last week to revive a marriage that they would much rather have seen dissolved. Until Charles de Gaulle's rejection of Britain's bid for Common Market membership, most of its EFTA partners (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal) had also banked on joining the Six. Instead, as they ruefully surveyed the damage, the Outer Seven seemed farther out than ever.

Accepting the fact, EFTA--which was glued together in a defensive reaction to the Common Market in 1960--decided last week to speed up its timetable for internal tariff reduction in hopes of stimulating trade among its members. The delegates disavowed any intention of starting a trade war with the Six, for after all, the Common Market was still the biggest customer for EFTA exports. "We still regard the Seven as a sensible contribution to European unity," declared EFTA Secretary General Frank Figgures.

With the sole exception of Austria, which announced that it will continue to press for associate membership in the Common Market, all of Britain's Outer Seven partners have now suspended their applications to join the Six, agree meanwhile that any move to link the two communities will have to come from Brussels. Few thought it would come soon.

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